Greek Mythology Picture Book today, Percy Jackson in a few years!

May 29, 2010

Young Zeus Picture Book for Kids is Perfect Introduction to Greek Mythology

I am a self-confessed mythology geek so I am always touting the Percy Jackson series as Harry Potter Meets Greek Mythology and getting kids to try out this series. But my five-year-old was a little left out; The Lightening Thief was too scary for him so he saw a different movie that day. But now things are looking up for him. Young Zeus by G. Brian Karas bridges the gap so perfectly between Greek Mythology and Percy Jackson in this wonderful and mythologically accurate picture book. Karas tells the story of Zeus as a youngster and how he became the King of Gods minus some gory details.

This book is now the new favorite bedtime story and G. Brian Karas softens the gory details while still keeping the story accurate and age appropriate. While some book critics suggest that this book is appropriate for grades 1-4, my preschooler is loving this book so I am going to go a bit younger. The nice thing is that this book covers many of the characters that I was not even that familiar with in such as the Hundred Handed Ones the Percy Jackson series so when your young one gets a bit older, she or he will be able to segue nicely into the series. And from there, maybe even the National Mythology Exam?!

7 Comments

Thanks for this tip…Our boys love the D’Aulair’s book of Greek Myths and anything myth-ish. We’ll check this one out, too. Nice post–I like knowing from parents with older kids how these different books sequence out. We’ll look ahead to Percy down the road!

Glad you like it Ticia! We really enjoy this picture book and it brings another side of Greek Mythology to life with details about Zeus that were new to us!Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Peanut Butter and Jellyfish Trailer Exclusive!